Earlier elections for Turkey 'possible'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main nationalist ally has called for snap elections in August.

2 min read

18 April, 2018

Turkey "could not wait" for the set date of November 3, 2019 [Getty]

Turkey’s elections could be brought forward by over a year after the main nationalist ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged on Tuesday for snap polls in August.

Devlet Bahceli, chief of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said that Turkey "could not wait" for the set date of November 3, 2019, to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections, and urged that they be held August 26 instead.

Bahceli’s call would be evaluated said the government in response to the suggestion. Erdogan is due to meet with him on Wednesday afternoon.

"On August 26, 2018, the Turkish nation should go to the ballot box in the spirit of marking a new victory," Bahceli said in a televised meeting of MHP lawmakers in Ankara.

For the past few months, speculation has increased over the elections being brought forward, with analysts suggesting that it could help prevent the economy from deteriorating in the coming months.

A new executive presidency will come into force following the upcoming elections, as agreed by a 2017 referendum, where the head of state is given more powers.

Opposition have described the additional powers as authoritarian.

The election will also give an opportunity for Erdogan to extend his stay in power with a new-five year mandate, having already served 15 years in power as premier and then president.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the Ankara Office Director of the German Marshall Fund of the US, said that Bahceli's call "has made early elections more likely".

"If President Erdogan does not intend to go to early elections he will now need to make a more clear binding promise that he will not," he told AFP.

Bekir Bozdag, the deputy prime minister said that the government would "consider" Bahceli’s call, which he said created a "new situation." Nihat Zeybekci, the economy minister, said that the early polls would be "positive."

While Erdogan has refused to directly comment on the intervention, an unscheduled meeting in Parliament was held between Erdogan, prime minister Binali Yildirim and parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman.

MHP and Erdogan have formed a close alliance in recent months, and the two parties have rarely had public disagreements.